Katniss analysis research paper PDF

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Katniss Everdeen Character Analysis The Hunger Games’ Suzanne Collins is the creator of one of the most honorable and respected characters in contemporary history. Katniss is a sixteen-year-old girl who is looked at by many as a savior of the country of Panem. She exhibits extraordinary hunting skills inside and outside of the arena, especially when she illegally hunts the grounds of District 12 with her lifelong friend, Gale Hawthorne. Her love for her younger sister, Prim, proves her loyalty and bravery to her family and the rest of Panem when she courageously steps up to take Prim’s place when she is selected as tribute to represent District 12 in the 74th Annual Hunger Games. Katniss demonstrates extraordinary hunting skills when she goes hunting for game with Gale right outside the fences set up around District 12. This was highly illegal and people who got caught would be punished severely by the Capitol. Everything she encounters in the environment is man-made by the government, and she still “draws power from nature—hunting in the woods is how she becomes resourceful enough to stand up to authority” (Wiener). During the training period before the Games began, Katniss gets a chance to impress the judges and the audience. She puts her skills on full display in one swift motion when she shoots at the Gamemaker’s pig and ejects the apple out of its mouth. Katniss added to her skill by learning to hunt with a higher-class bow, unlike the handmade one she had been practicing with for years. She practices and entirely learned her way with a bow and arrow and became an extremely accurate shooter: a skill that helped her survive in the Games.

Katniss proves her bravery to her family and country when she immediately steps up to take her twelve-year-old sister, Prim’s place when she is chosen as a tribute. Katniss know that she can “protect Prim in every way” possible, but she’s “powerless against the reaping” (Collins

15). Borsellino writes that Katniss “volunteers for the games in order to save Prim’s life, something that is almost never done because the Capitol teaches people to put their own selfpreservation before any bond of love in such a situation, even a bond as close as that between Katniss and Prim. Katniss defies this” (Borsellino 77). The Capitol is trying to slowly dehumanize the citizens of Panem, but Katniss refuses to believe in their teachings and proves this by showing her affection towards Peeta, Prim, and Rue. When Katniss volunteers for Prim, the audience is immediately captivated by her bravery, and continues to fall in love with her as her charismatic actions draw them in. She reassures her loyalty to Peeta by suggesting suicide with him, and proves she will not forsake him by throwing poisonous berries into her mouth. There are doubts on whether Katniss would have betrayed the only tribute left if it was one from another district. Katniss shows her loyalty and motherly-side when she sings to Rue and covers her body with flowers as she slowly dies in the Games. The audience is instantly hooked to Katniss as they watch her loyally stay by Rue's side. Katniss is clearly an honorable character: she stands for what she believes is right, even when the Capitol continues to bring her down.

Katniss had a complex mind and was an enigmatic character even before she entered the Games. She was always motivated by love, the emotion that she expressed best through her communications with Peeta and Prim. Katniss stands for freedom from the Capitol through her many rebellious acts performed throughout the trilogy. She demonstrates power and rebellion through her role as the Revolution leader, known as the Mockingjay. The rebellion does not start “when Katniss and Peeta make as if to kill themselves,” (Borsellino 80), it starts the second Katniss steps up to volunteer for Prim’s place. The thought of losing the Games by suicide “is seen by President Snow as dangerous because it could be interpreted as an act of rebellion.” (Borsellino 80). Snow believes it's a show of defiance against the Capitol, and demands that

Katniss convince the audience she acted simply out of love, and not rebellion. Katniss and Peeta have both been through a ridiculously high amount of pressure and stress post-Games, but Katniss survives her darkness because she understands what is reality. They both suffer from a severe case of PTSD from their experience in the Games, but Katniss survives by continuing to reassure herself that humanity still exists (Borsellino 86). According to Chappell, the tributes in the Hunger Games do not have mental breakdowns for one reason: they believe they can still survive with a positive mindset. In reality, the soldiers that refuse to accept to believe their fate will “become suicidal instead of more courageous and they don't try as hard” (Chappell 115). On the other hand, others believe that Katniss becomes the ultimate killer-kid after the Hunger Games, (Wiener 87). She evolves from the quiet kid who gets uneasy at the word "killing", to a cold-blooded killer who has no hesitation shooting down others.

Katniss exhibits many useful skills that have helped her win the Games. Simply put, she “is a resourceful young woman who loves her sister” (O’Hannigan 109). She became a heroine for her country as she led others into rebellion against the government. When Katniss stood up to President Snow and defied the Capitol over and over again, she instantly became the “Mockingjay” of the rebels: their spokesperson and leader....